Major League Soccer wants Anschutz Entertainment Group to sell the Houston Dynamo because the sports and entertainment conglomerate also owns the Los Angeles Galaxy, the league's most recognizable team. According to the Houston Chronicle, a group including the Olympic boxing gold medalist Oscar de la Hoya is interested in acquiring the two-time MLS champ, although the official word from Dynamo President Oliver Luck was "no comment" per a signed confidentiality agreement.
However, prior to any sale, AEG wants to secure the Dynamo's long-term future in Houston. In the next few weeks, the company plans to finalize a deal to build a new stadium in the downtown area. Part of that deal would include a non-relocation provision requiring the new owner to pay a steep penalty for relocating the team. AEG plans to build a 22,000-capacity open-air stadium in the middle of downtown, between the George R. Brown Convention Center and Minute Maid Park, home of the NBA's Houston Rockets. The project would cost between $70 and $80 million.
City officials added credence to rumors of a possible sale. "We are not oblivious to this situation," said Andy Icken, the city's deputy chief of public works, who's in charge of negotiating a stadium deal. "We will put protective language into any agreement." Meanwhile, MLS Commissioner Don Garber dismissed his own comments made in a New York Times report about the probable sale of the club, saying it would be "very speculative and inappropriate" to suggest that a sale was imminent.
No comments yet.
